In the information technology environment of today, the collection and analysis of data is becoming increasingly important. As more and more resources become dedicated to data collection, the time and resources expended to deploy and maintain these systems can become large. Because of this, if the data collected by these systems becomes unreliable, the implementer's ability to effectively utilize the data can be negatively impacted, potentially degrading the ability of an implementer to react to events in real time. Further, unreliable data can also contaminate any aggregate and derived data that may be used for analysis, potentially corrupting an entire dataset. Still further, if the system or someone associated therewith is not aware that the data collected by a particular sensor has become unreliable, the user of the system may have no way of knowing that the data is suspect.
One type of sensor that is increasingly being utilized in certain environments is the BLE Beacon (or iBeacons), hereinafter “beacons”. Beacons can be among the most popular solutions for providing enhanced experiences for customers of certain venues, which may include venues such as stadiums, airports, retail stores, and/or hospitals, among others. Beacons can be used in a wide range of applications, including sales promotions, tracking the location of important equipment, and/or building security, among others.
To perform these functions, beacons typically transmit only and do not receive. These beacons typically transmit a relatively short-range (e.g., currently having a specified maximum of 70 meters, but normally approximately 25 feet) wireless (e.g., Bluetooth) signal. This signal can be picked up by mobile devices enabled to receive the types of signals broadcast by the beacons, and an application operating on the device can be notified that the device is within the range of the signal of the beacon. One common protocol for operating beacons is called “Open Architecture”. In this protocol, the beacons are relatively independent, and do not communicate with or connect with any type of network.